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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Relaxed, Lightly Tanned and Without Bites

I returned on Tuesday from a great trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. What a fabulously relaxing place. The weather was a balmy mid twenties, mostly sunny and just the occasional shower to keep the heat down and the grass green. The sea ranged from pale turquoise of the lagoon to deep blue beyond the reef where the whales played and waved to us the onshore tourists.

I didn't sit in the sun all the time. I did get off my rear to go snorkeling in the lagoon that rings the island and I took a 4X4 trip around the island and up into the hills. I also made sure I sampled as many of the restaurants and bars around the island as time would allow. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the food. I have not eaten so much seafood for many years and am now a convert to tuna and game fish steaks. One restaurant in particular stood out, the Windjammer. The sad thing is was its last week of existence as the lease was up. My suggestion to those looking for good food on the island would be to find out where the chef and staff of the Windjammer have gone and go there.

I went to Rarotonga prepared for attack by mosquitoes and other biting insects and armed myself with Safari Stick and Safari Wipes insect repellents. I am pleased to announce both worked admirably and I was not bitten at all, except one night before I applied the repellent. Apart from the mosquitoes I was told by the hotel that there is another biting fly on the island and that they take steps to reduce its harm to patrons by trapping. The repellent seemed to work well on these beasties too and I was not troubled by them. I suspect the preponderance of chickens on the island and even around the hotel grounds also help to keep many insects down.

Other pests on the island include rats and myna birds that have displaced the native birds to pockets high in the forests of hills. Although I saw many myna birds I saw no rats. The hotel pest control program was working well on them. Ants were common and there were some that I watched intently in the hotel room, but they were not in any numbers that caused alarm unless food was left out. Don't leave your honey roasted peanuts where ants can get to them! My next blog will discuss how to avoid nuisance ants while on holiday and keep your honey roast peanuts free from extra protein.

Why do mosquitoes not bite property agents?Because they worry the blood suckers might bite them first.